Flexibility and Dance

May 3rd: International Sun Day.

No better timing for you to start practicing the Surya Namaskar, commonly known as Sun Salutation.

Surya Namaskar is a Yoga practice that helps improving flexibility, fluidity and helps releasing mind from any thoughts or stress, which is why it’s a perfect beginning of yoga classes! Surya Namaskar consists of a fluid passage into a predefined series of asanas (poses).

Let’s see which ones:

• Tadasana (Mountain Pose)
• Urdhva Hastasana (Upward Salute)
• Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend)
• Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)
• Plank Pose
• Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)
• Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose)
• Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

To make complete round of Sun Salutation, you will have to go through all those poses, from Tadasana to Adho Mukha Svanasana, and again from the latter to Tadasana again, changing the sides in the low lunge.

Not by chance this fundamental Yoga sequence takes the name of “Sun Salutation”. Indian Mythology in fact considers sun as the origin of everything, the source of life and symbol of light, meant both as what allows us to see the beauty of the nature and as as self-consciousness.

Practicing Sun Salutation constantly, ideally every day, can lead to great mental, spiritual and physical benefits.

Watch the video and no worries if you can’t execute all the asanas precisely.

One last tip: take it simple at the beginning (smaller mountain pose, small forward bend and low lunge, also keeping your hands on the ground…) and gradually introduce more difficult elements.

Namaste!